Chapter 3

The sun rose to a canopy of gold, bright amid the blue, bidding the stars to take their nightly rest. As the darkness surrendered, every color changed from from tinges of charcoal to a vibrancy as its rays came out like nature's easel, giving brilliant color to what was hidden under the passing starlit night. It warmed her skin ever so slightly, passing through the window as it invited itself in to ignite the witch's beauty and shone the stone around her neck. A constant reminder how she was on the run with her brother.

Syrena had been awake for about thirty minutes now. She changed into something Jonas bought for her a few days ago: a ruffle off-shoulder white polka dot short-sleeved yellow shirt, navy blue jeans, a shawl collar sleeve asymmetrical hem blazer, and black boots. Her foot crossed over her leg when she sat on an armchair, reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility in her room.

When she heard the door open, she turned her head to see Luka staring at her. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." Syrena grabbed a handbag and stuffed her book inside. "Let's go now."

Now that Bonnie Bennett knew that they were witches, it was time to formulate a plan. Luka thought it would be best if he went by himself on his first day of school, but Syrena insisted, because she wanted to be closer to her to have an ally. Three witches on her side was better than two. This didn't mean though that she would tell her everything right away. She had to be wary with her words, or else the witch may easily turn on her.

They headed to the front door only to stop when they heard, "And where do you think you're going?"

The duo turned to see Elijah staring at them curiously. One look in his eyes, Syrena knew she was in trouble. After all, this was not the first time she tried to leave the apartment without his knowledge. He was extremely protective of her, and he had good reason to be. However, Syrena felt like she was in a cage, squawking to be released.

"Out." Syrena said vaguely.

"Where?"

"Just out."

Elijah clenched his jaw and took a heavy sigh through his nostrils before he spoke, "Out is starting to become very concerning."

Before they knew it, Jonas came out of his room, watching them. "What's going on?"

"My sister feels the need to go out."

"Luka, where are you taking her?"

"She has a plan."

"And what plan is that may I ask?" Elijah narrowed his eyes at Luka with his hands in his pockets.

The two witches looked at each other, while Jonas and Elijah patiently waited for their reply. Syrena had to convince her brother to let her go, but she also didn't want to tell him what her plan was, because he may not be agreeable to it, and he may have good reason not to be. Even though Bonnie comes from a powerful bloodline, she was a stranger to her, so it may seem strange how Syrena is putting her faith in her. Hopefully, it will be worth the effort. To Syrena, the more allies they had, the greater the outcome will be.

"Elijah." Syrena took a daunting step towards him. "When I asked you for your help, you told me that you would always protect me, and I trusted you. Well, now I need you to trust me."

He looked over at Jonas who shrugged his shoulders before he turned back to his sister. Syrena understood his conflicting mind. Since her brother empathized her, he always looked out what was best for her in their adolescence. However, there were times when Syrena wanted him to weigh his heart over his logic more. He simply had to have faith in her.

Seeing the seriousness behind her eyes, he turned to Luka and said, "She is never to leave your side, do you understand?" When Luka nodded, he looked over at his sister. "Don't think we won't have this discussion later."

"Thank you, Elijah."

With that, the pair of witches went off to go to Luka's first day of school, Mystic Falls High, leaving Elijah and Jonas alone. Elijah went over to the window to watch them leave. He could not afford to lose his sister. She was the only family he had left after Niklaus daggered the rest of his brothers and sister, and he was willing to do anything by seeking his revenge and keeping Syrena safe.

"I'm surprised." Jonas said. "I thought you were going to keep her inside, because you were afraid that Klaus would find her."

"That was the idea."

"And...what changed?"

"The thought of my sister feeling trapped like a domesticated bird in a cage. Syrena had a difficult life growing up, and for the next thousand years, it grew more tragic with each passing day. She only ever had a few moments in her life where she filled the empty void in her heart. Marrying my brother happened to be one of them. I remember seeing the joy in her face as I walked her down the aisle with Kol and Rebekah by their side. And now, my brother will stop at nothing until he has her again."

Syrena and Luka walked along the parking lot, seeing many of the students arrive whether it was by walking, the bus, or their cars. They then went through the front red doors and headed to the main office so that Luka would check himself in since he missed his first day of school. The receptionist took note of it before she noticed Syrena.

"Can I help you?"

"This is my friend." Luka answered for her. "She just moved here from Louisiana and thought about coming here for school."

"Well, she has to call ahead to let us know."

An idea popped in her head as she gave her a smile and said, "I did. Yesterday in fact."

"I would've remembered if you did."

"Could you maybe check?"

The receptionist sighed and looked through her computer as she asked, "Name?"

"Syrena Mikaels."

The witch concentrated and said a spell in her head. She focused her name on the computer, thinking how the words plastered themselves on the screen. The receptionist herself stared at the screen in utter bewilderment, satisfying Syrena with a playful smirk on her face.

"Huh? Looks like I did it put it in my computer."

Syrena shrugged as she replied, "We all make mistakes, don't we?"

"I'll have someone from the welcoming committee come and show you a tour."

"No. That's alright. I'll stay with Luka. He can show me around."

"If you insist. I hope you enjoy your visit."

"Thank you."

Luka and Syrena headed to his first class in history. It looked like a typical modern day classroom with desks, a chalkboard, and posters on the walls. The rest of the students swarmed inside nearly bumping into them. One of the students knocked her handbag over, spilling out her phone. She looked back at the student who bumped into her and he grabbed her cell phone which skidded a couple feet away from her before he gave it to her. He was around her height with a toned, muscular body and black hair with brown eyes.

"Looks like you dropped this."

His smile was charming to say the least, but Syrena didn't have time to be swayed. She dealt with enough men in her life who were "charming". There was even a familiarity to his persona to which she recognized instantly through his smile. It was the kind with an ulterior motive. Something Syrena knew all too well. Despite her instincts, she gave him a polite smile.

"Thank you."

He nodded his head and went to his seat in the back of the classroom. Luka shrugged his shoulders and gestured for her to follow him, so she did by going to the middle of the classroom, taking a seat next to him. She then glanced back at the boy to see that he was staring at her, so she turned back around to face the front of the classroom. The next thing she knew, another student went up to him and clapped his hand, greeting him enthusiastically. Syrena then heard his name to be Tyler.

She smiled when she saw Bonnie enter, who smiled back when she laid eyes on Syrena, so she headed her way and sat next to her. "I didn't know this was your first day."

"It's not. Luka thought he might show me around the school. I'm thinking about coming here."

Syrena observed the history class, which was taught by Alaric Saltzman. She did wish that she had more classes with Bonnie, but unfortunately, Luka did not share too many classes with her, so she simply followed him to his other classes, but she did not pay much attention to the lessons. Most of the teachers even greeted her by welcoming her to the school and have her introduce herself to the class as Syrena Mikaels, which included Alaric's class, while they hope to see her attend their classes by enrolling in the school.

By the time school ended, Luka was called back by one of his teachers right after class, probably to tell him what work he missed. He did look back at Syrena, but she assured him that she would wait in the halls, so he went back in the classroom and had a discussion with his teacher. Syrena's smile quickly faded when his back was turned. When the teacher had him shut the door for privacy, she walked down the halls and looked around to find Bonnie, but to no avail, so she looked out the window and saw her talking to some students.

When she headed there, she stopped in her tracks when something caught her eye. There next to the gym stood a trophy case, but it was not the amount of medals or how big the awards were, but there was one photo in particular which made her draw nearer to the case. A bunch of teenage girls in their red and gold cheerleading uniforms wrapped their arms around each other. One of them was Bonnie, and the other two were beautiful. One of the other girls looked similar to Syrena with her naturally wavy, blonde hair, pale complexion, and blue eyes. The other one forced Syrena's lips to part ever so slightly, because her resemblance was eerily striking to Katerina. She had innocent, doe eyes, a slim physique, and long dark brown hair. The way the doppelgänger's body language was to Bonnie was comforting as if they were rather close with each other. This only meant that her mission to recruit Bonnie was going to be difficult seeing that she was good friends with her.

Syrena turned the corner so that she would head outside to meet Bonnie only to gasp when she nearly bumped into a student, and when she looked to see that it was Tyler, she gave him an awkward smile, while he gave her a cheeky grin as he said, "You know, we keep meeting like this."

"Right. Excuse me."

She steered away from him, and she couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable, knowing how he stared after her. He then caught up with her and walked by her side to match her pace. She then cocked her head at him with her arms already folded, staring at him, while he gave her a smirk.

"I'm sorry. Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Just here to welcome you to the school."

"Well, I don't know if I'm coming here."

"Really? I think you should, 'cause we have great sports teams here." He then went in front of her, stopping her tracks as he continued, "You should see the Cornerback for the Timberwolves. He's kind of an all-star here."

Syrena smirked, knowing what his intentions were, so she decided to play his little game by responding, "And what do the girls say about him?"

"The usual. Athletic, devilish good looks. The whole package."

She couldn't help but laugh at him, thinking how ridiculous he sounded by flirting with her. It was not the first time of course for a boy to be this forward with her. His style was similar to her husband's. She remembered how he arrogantly complimented himself the way Tyler did as a way to make himself look more attractive, and it worked every time as she found it entertaining, but she had learned better to fall for it again.

"He sounds like a catch."

"Yeah." Tyler said smirking at her. "Too bad he's not taken."

"Does he want to be?"

"Maybe. But there hasn't been one he's interested in."

"Well, then it looks like he'll have to keep looking."

Syrena moved past, nudging him out of the way. His eyes followed her, taken back by her boldness. She didn't bother looking back at him as she walked away, but she knew that he was staring at her. No doubt in her mind did he have the same condescending smirk on his face. She didn't have to see it to know that he had it on. It was not worth the aggravation.

By the time she made it outside, she went over to Bonnie and startled her when she reached her side. "God, you scared me!"

"I'm sorry."

They had bright smiles on their faces as Bonnie asked, "So how was shadowing going? And where's Luka?"

"It was great, and Luka's talking to a teacher right now." Bonnie nodded her head in understanding, but she faced Syrena when she heard her ask, "So how long have you been using magic?"

"Um, my grandmother waited until I was in high school to tell me that I was a witch, but in her defense, she was drunk."

"So you're new then?"

"New-ish. I still have some growing pains."

"Like?"

"Physically, it's become a lot harder. I have a bad reaction to it sometimes. I get these awful nosebleeds-"

"Nosebleeds?" Syrena asked with somewhat concern.

"Yeah, and I pass out sometimes."

Syrena remembered what she was like that when she first attempted to use magic at a much earlier age, so her mother became her teacher. Now, Syrena is one of the most gifted witches who has lived for ten centuries. Syrena knew a way to help her, and she was willing to do it if it meant that Bonnie trusted her and can come to depend on her. Perhaps this was going to be easier than she thought. Whatever it took, Syrena was willing to do it.

"You're trying too much on your own. You need someone to guide you."

"From what?"

"From nature. The elements. Anything where you can draw your power from. Have you ever channeled another witch before?"

"What is that?"

"It's when we put our energy together, doubling our strength. I'll show you, watch. Let me see your bracelet."

Bonnie took off her yellow band around her wrist with ease, while Syrena took off the necklace she wore. Syrena was not the type to be careless. However, she thought it would be alright to take off the one thing that hid her from her husband for a moment if it meant she could gain Bonnie as an ally. Bonnie skeptically handed her her bracelet to Syrena, and Syrena took it, placing it over her necklace for a moment before she traded it with Bonnie. The stone shone for a moment under the sunlight, reminding her of the consequences if she did not wear the protection around her neck, but she ignored the chill warning off her shoulder by giving the witch in front of her a small smile.

"Now, I want you to stand very still and concentrate."

"I don't get it."

"Alright. I know..."

"What are we doing?"

"We're channeling. The personal items will act as a talisman. Now concentrate."

The witch held Syrena's necklace between her hands and shut her eyes. Syrena's eyes never left Bonnie, smiling as she saw how focused she was. A bellowing of wind surfaced in the air, gliding swiftly and hurriedly, forcing Bonnie's eyes to open as she glanced at Syrena.

"What is that?"

Instead of answering her, Syrena shut her eyes and smiled, listening intently to nature's call, while Bonnie stared at her in amazement as the leaves rustled in the schoolyard, passing by every student that came its way. Syrena's smile grew when she heard the witch gasp. Bonnie then shut her eyes again as the wind grew more aggressive. It sent the student's papers flying and Bonnie and Syrena's hairs tousled against the current. The pair soon opened their eyes and gazed at each other, letting the wind dissipate.

"That was..."

"Amazing?" Syrena answered with a broad smile.

"Yeah."

The two girls laughed gleefully, watching the students around them pick up the discarded papers on the ground. They then noticed the boy Jeremy approaching them, bringing his backpack over his shoulder as he went over to Bonnie.

"What's with that weather, huh?" Jeremy asked.

Syrena and Bonnie looked at each other knowingly with smirks on their faces, so Syrena looked at the boy and replied, "I don't know, but it is strange, isn't it?"

The panting of someone earned their attention as they all turned to see Luka jogging towards them with an apprehensive look on his face as he stared at Syrena. "Where have you been? You said you'd wait in the halls."

"I'm sorry, Luka, but I saw Bonnie, so I thought I might say, 'hello'."

He looked over at Bonnie and Jeremy and gave them a polite smile. "Hey." Bonnie greeted him, while Jeremy nodded at him before he turned back to Syrena and said, "We should get going."

Syrena nodded her head in understanding, so she turned back to Bonnie and said, "I have to go. I'll see you later."

As Syrena and Luka left the schoolyard, Jeremy looked over at his witch friend and commented on Syrena, "She's kinda weird, huh?"

"No, she's not."

Bonnie looked down at her hand to see that she was still holding Syrena's necklace. She was about to yell after her, but stopped herself when her phone vibrated in her pocket, so she took it out to read the message. It looks like she would have to worry about Syrena's necklace some other time, and Syrena would pay heavenly for it.

By the time Syrena and Luka made it back to the apartment, it was already nighttime. Elijah was nowhere to be seen. He probably went out to find more information on the doppelgänger. Meanwhile, Jonas was reading through an opened grimoire, exploring its contents. He didn't have to turn around to know that it was Luka and Syrena as he asked, "So how was school?"

Luka grinned, answering, "Riveting."

Syrena smiled at him, placing her bag on a table near her, but her smile quickly faded as she took a sharp intake of breath. Something swelled inside her like a force, anxious to come through her. She didn't know where to look, so she casted her eyes downward, feeling somewhat lightheaded. When Luka and Jonas heard her, their smiles vanished in an instant, staring at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" Jonas asked.

"Nothing." Syrena breathed out.

She saw Luka and Jonas glance at each other for a moment before they continued what they were doing. Syrena did not understand why she felt like this. Something was not right. The witch slowly reached for the stone around her neck, but her lips parted slightly, surprised that it was not there. How was it missing? What could have-It then dawned on her. Bonnie had her necklace. She cursed herself in her head for being too careless.

As the night went on, Luka sat down on the table doing his homework, while Jonas continued to read the grimoire. Syrena tried to fight off the force banging against her head. She did not understand how Bonnie could be this powerful, but then again, the witch came from an ancient and powerful bloodline. When Syrena groaned and placed her palms on the island in the kitchen, Jonas and Luka looked at her with concern.

Jonas then went over to her and asked, "What's going on?"

"It's Bonnie Bennett. She's channeling me."

"Why would you let her do that?" He then looked over at his son. "You were supposed to be watching her."

"A teacher wanted to have a meeting with me for missing my first day. She was supposed to wait in the halls for me."

Syrena clutched her head and hissed in pain. Something red and wet trailed down her nose, dripping down on the surface. Jonas and his son's eyes widened, watching her in pain as she yelped.

"Oh, God." Jonas muttered.

The witch slumped off the island and fell to the floor with Jonas and Luka rushing over to her side. They knelt down to her as Luka called her name, but she was in too much pain to hear him. Jonas then took her head and performed a spell by uttering a couple of words to stop her, while his son watched. Her panting soon ceased, but she was too weak. She could barely feel herself, and her eyes just wanted to shut, so they did as she drifted off.

"Is she okay?" Luka asked.

"She'll be fine." He then reprimanded his son by saying, "Next time, make sure she doesn't leave your side."

"Are you gonna tell Elijah?"

"No. That's the last thing we need is to have him down our throats. The less he knows, the better." Jonas took her in his arms and carried her into her bedroom, setting her down on her bed. "Let's get rid of the blood before he comes back."

Meanwhile, in Chicago, a witch with short, platinum blonde hair with a slim body, and her skin was as rich and deep as any stately home mahogany went over to a man who possessed curled ginger-brown hair and dominating blue eyes that contrasted his pearl-white skin. He was handsome to say the least with his well-built body and his delicate yet masculine face. There was also a simple gold band on his ring finger, showing the world that he belonged to one woman and one woman only, yet only his allies knew that she left him so many years ago. He even helped himself to the finest scotch money could buy as the liquid burned his throat in a pleasant way. It was an endless cycle he repeated when his wife left him.

The man then smirked to himself when he saw the witch in the corner of his eye, approaching him, so he took another sip and stared into his drink, addressing her. "If you've come here to tell me to leave again, Gloria, then you needn't worry. I'll leave as soon as I have my fill."

She narrowed her eyes, unfazed by his antic, so she earned his attention by saying, "Then I guess you don't want to hear what I found."

He turned to her, and his eyes gazed at her curiously. "And what have you found?"

"The question isn't what have I found, but who I found."

He smirked and set his glass down as he asked in a low voice, "And who have you found?"

"Took me a long time to track her too. How she managed it for so long, only to be so careless. She must be losing her touch."

"Who?" The man asked impatiently in a low, threatening tone.

Gloria smirked as she stared into his eyes, forcing him to grin as she replied, "The one who got away from you, Klaus. Syrena."

The rise in the corners of his mouth grew wickedly as he looked back at his drink, thinking of her. There was even an elegant wedding band that curved as three strands woven almost as if they had grown together over time with a silver chain to secure it on around his neck. It was a constant reminder of her. An oath he pledged to himself to bring her back so that she would return to his side by putting her ring back on her ring finger after she left it on their bed with that infernal note he burnt in the fireplace after he read it.

"Then it's time I greet my wife properly."

He finished the contents of his glass with one gulp and followed Gloria to formulate a plan.

Here's the third chapter everyone! I hope you liked it. Looks like things are starting to heat up. Let me know what you think so far in the review section, or if you have any questions, you can do that, and I will happily answer them. Stay tuned for more chapters!